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The first shipment of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine arrived in New Hampshire this week. And with three vaccines now on the market, people may be wondering: How do they differ?
“They are all excellent vaccines,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. “When I’m asked what’s the best vaccine, I say, ‘The one that’s available to you.’ ”
Developed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson, the latest vaccine received the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency-use authorization last week for those 18 and older.
New Hampshire’s first allotment of about 12,000 doses will be administered at the NH Motor Speedway, which is being turned into a temporary mass vaccination site from Saturday to Monday, according to N.H. Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Kathy Remillard. Appointments are required.
The type of vaccine administered at each site is based on how many doses are available.
At Keene’s vaccination site on Krif Road, both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are given, according to Tricia Zahn, director of the Greater Monadnock Public Health Network, which runs the site. She said Wednesday that she wasn’t sure when the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will join the mix.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has a few major differences from the Moderna and Pfizer immunizations, both of which got emergency approval in mid-December.
Rather than being administered in two doses, Johnson & Johnson’s is only one shot, making it the most convenient option, according to Schaffner.
“It’s one and done, and that makes it a lot easier,” he said.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine can also be stored in a conventional refrigerator, unlike the Moderna version, which requires a freezer, and the Pfizer doses that require even colder temperatures.
This is key to increasing vaccinations nationwide, according to Schaffner.
“Once it starts being spread out, it’ll be more widely available, particularly in rural areas and at pharmacies and doctor’s offices, so it’ll be more convenient to receive,” he said.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has a lower efficacy rate than the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, but Schaffner said that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good option.
The vaccine’s multi-country clinical trial showed a 66 percent efficacy rate, compared to about 95 percent for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, according to the FDA. The rate is lower for a few reasons, Schaffner said.
Most importantly, during Johnson & Johnson’s trials, the vaccine had to prevent against not only the original strain of COVID-19, but also the several other variants that have emerged in recent months.
Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines didn’t need to contend with those, Schaffner explained, boosting their efficacy in comparison.
And even with a comparatively lower efficacy, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is still on par with other vaccinations, like the flu shot, which has an efficacy of 40 to 60 percent, according to Dr. Aalok Khole, an infectious disease physician at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene.
“We want to urge people to not go by the numbers alone,” he said. “… What we need to concentrate on, with respect to any vaccine and specifically with Johnson & Johnson, is how does it do when you are considering the reduction in severe or critical COVID-19 … or reduction in COVID-19 deaths.”
In its clinical trial, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was 85 percent effective in protecting against severe disease, and no hospitalizations or deaths were reported.
With those points in mind, Khole and Schaffner said this vaccine, just like Moderna’s and Pfizer’s, is a great option.
And regardless of which one you get, both doctors said the bottom line is people need to get vaccinated.
“Get whatever [vaccine] you get offered,” Khole said. “… Getting a vaccine, irrespective of which one you get offered, is the best step forward.”
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